La Chapelle campus officially opened: a new chapter for the university

A new space dedicated to students, research and the local community

The opening ceremony took place in the presence of Christine Neau-Leduc, President of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Pierre-Paul Zalio, President of the  Campus Condorcet, Philippe Baptiste, Minister of Higher Education and Research, Emmanuel Grégoire, Mayor of Paris, Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France Region, and Julie Benetti, Rector of the Île-de-France academic region. Also in attendance were Bénédicte Durand, President of the National Centre of University and School Services (Cnous); Thierry Bégué, General Manager of the Paris Regional University Service Centre (Crous); Éric Lejoindre, Mayor of the 18th arrondissement; as well as numerous elected representatives, partners, students and staff.

After the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, the guests were invited on a tour of the campus' various areas. In particular, they visited the Crous offices, followed by a tutorial room where Cécile Faliès, vice-president of the Academic Council’s Research Committee, gave a presentation on the ‘Campus des élus’. The tour continued in the Lecture Theater 500, where the Collège de l’IA was presented by Camille Salinesi, a lecturer in computer science, and the Chaire Santé-SHS was presented by Judith Rainhorn, a lecturer in history. The tour concluded at the Hélène-Ahrweiler Library, where the architects explained the building’s key design choices and architectural ambition.

A collaborative project brought to life

At the end of the tour, all the participants gathered in Lecture Theater 300, where the speakers emphasised the collaborative and formative nature of this project for the university.

The university’s president, Ms Christine Neau-Leduc, praised the commitment of all the teams involved: “Thanks to the efforts of each and every one of you, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne now has a campus of excellence for its students and staff.” She also highlighted the symbolic significance of this inauguration, held just a few days before Marc Bloch’s induction into the Panthéon: “A magnificent symbol for the humanities and social sciences.”

Pierre-Paul Zalio, for his part, emphasised the innovative nature of the project: “Building today means helping to do things differently,” adding that the La Chapelle campus “marks a decisive step in the long process of constructing the Condorcet Campus. ”

For Philippe Baptiste, this new campus represents, above all, a commitment to the future: “This new campus is a promise and a symbol of your resolve.”

A symbol of urban and academic transformation

Beyond its academic purpose, the La Chapelle campus is part of the far-reaching transformation of the Porte de la Chapelle neighbourhood. Éric Lejoindre highlighted the challenges posed by this transformation: “Those familiar with the history of this neighbourhood know that it was no easy task to transform it so radically.” According to him, this new learning space now serves as “a bridge between generations, diverse groups and cultures.”

Valérie Pécresse placed the project within the context of the Campus Plan, which has been underway since 2008, and among the major university projects in the Île-de-France region. She described the La Chapelle campus as a “setting in which to flourish” for students and staff.

Finally, Emmanuel Grégoire highlighted the scale of the collective effort that had made the project a success: “A great deal of talent has been brought together to achieve this result.”

The morning concluded with the unveiling of the commemorative plaque by the officials, officially marking the opening of this new center for teaching, research and student life.  

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